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Monday, March 22, 2010

ACRONYM ACRONYM IT IS MY COVER!!!

Oh. My. Gosh. You guys don't know how long I've been waiting to show you this!! Okay, a month. That's how long. A month of having it as my screen background, and staring googly eyed at it, and swooning over it.

Now, if you're still reading and haven't just scrolled down, a little background. I was always sure I was going to get a good cover, because HarperTeen rocks in the cover department. But since my book is funny and Evie is a very perky narrator, I had this nagging worry that my cover would come out...hot pink and sparkly. Which really just doesn't sum up what the book is very well at all, because while it *is* funny and it *is* cute, it's also dark and scary and intriguing, (I say, VERY HUMBLY).

So when I found out what direction they were taking it in, and what photographer they were using, and who my design team was...well, I didn't worry anymore.

And what they came up with? LOVE LOVE LOVE SWOON SWOON SWOON.

LOVE.

Are you ready?

Really?

REALLY?

Okay, I give you: PARANORMALCY!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!

This is me, incoherent with happiness!!

You guys, I love it so, so much. I love the dark and foreboding background. I love Evie--this is pretty close to how I pictured her! I love her hair, and I love her dress, and I love that SHE would love her hair and her dress. And I love the font. And I love MY NAME ON IT.

Oh my gosh. I need to go sit down...

Anyway. There it is! I hope you love it as much as I do. Keep in mind that this cover image is NOT final--there are always tweaks and adjustments--but I could not be more thrilled with it. I am a very, VERY happy author right now!!

OMG AHHHHH!!!! THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!! Its so gorgeous and dark, which is interesting because from the way you speak of Paranormalcy I was picturing it with a lighter, more fun cover. But this cover works really well too :-)

Not what I pictured, but OMG That is beyond gorgeous work! And I'm totally squeeing in my head cuz I wanted to read it before but now I absolutely just HAVE HAVE HAVE to read it. *drools, lusts, waaaaannnnttttssss*

Kiersten, I LOVE the cover. Now THIS is a book I'd pluck from the shelves. I love the juxtaposition of Evie's dainty pink dress against the stormy sky. I love the font (very classic). I love the cattails or whatever those are in the foreground and how Evie's dress is whipping around her.

HOly crap on a cracker. I LOVE this cover. The girl is gorgeous and looks like she is going to kick butt and the background is, well there are no words. Plus your name across the bottom is the best part! Congrats Kiersten. Too bad I still have to wait months to read it!

That is absolutely beautiful. It's the kind of cover that would definitely make me pick up the book to find out more about it. Congratulations--couldn't happen to a more deserving book and writer! Can't wait to read it!

You guys, I was dying dropping my daughter off at school because I just want to party in the comments with you!!

Thank you all SO MUCH for the cover love! I am still floored at what an incredible job the design team did! I can totally brag about my cover because I had nothing to do with it : ) I feel INCREDIBLY LUCKY.

And to everyone who is saying they would pick it up based on the cover alone, THANK YOU!!! That is the whole point of covers : ) I feel the same way about it. LOVE LOVE LOVE the Harper design team! They are brilliant.

And re: Taylor Swift, that's who my editor daydreams about being Evie in a movie : )

Holy Beautiful! I LOVE it. Totally awesome and would definitely catch my attention at a bookstore. Congrats! I'm surprised you haven't fallen over from lack of air and had Laptop..err Mac take over for you!!

Oh wow! That is GORGEOUS! I love how dark and intriguing it is! I already thought I was going to love your book, but knowing this image comes from your story makes me even more positive that it's going to be amazing! Congrats on the awesome cover!

Your cover makes those twilight covers look like nothing more than a stupid apple on a black background.

I LOVE IT!!!

Can't wait to read it!!!

I think I'll have to buy two, one to read and get sticky because I like to eat candied apples while I read YA novels. And one to put in my shrine of books whose authors I've met. So far the shrine holds only the Bible and the BOM. Can't wait to add PARANORMALCY!

I would love to know more about the process of designing the cover -picking the perfect model, photographing her, if they imagine a particular scene from the book when they choose the setting/background, etc. (Future blog topic??) Because it is so amazing that they got her just as you imagined/hoped she'd look. And what do they tell the model to get that intriguing expression on her face? It makes you want to KNOW who she is, and what her story is. (I also love the darkness, the ominous sky, the shadows.) This cover will definitely jump off the shelf at people.

I found out about this book in November and I loved the whole concept of the book so i have been excited to read this book for four months and I've been hoping that the cover would be out soon. Now that it is all I can say is that it is freakin' breathtakingly gorgeous. I am being totally serious and I think you know that, I think everyone knows that this is a stunning, and I mean stunning cover. Can't wait until September 21st. :)

Oh My God!!!!!!! This is such an amazing cover! Like mind bogglingly fantastic, I cannot wait to get this book. I am at a loss for words to describe how happy I am for you, because it looks fan-freakin'-tastic!

Holy crap that's the most beautiful I've ever seen! I just got done reading a super sad part in "The Last Song" by Nick Sparks that made me cry and then when I saw your cover I got teary-eyed again!! :D Love, love, LOVE! :D <3

You're probably going to hate me for this but I don't think that the cover is a great fit for the book. I like the image it's definitely cool, but what won me over when I read the book was how much fun it was. I know you don't want a cartoon or anything on the cover but Evie should be cracking a smile or something. This cover just seems a little too "typical" to me and I think that your book is something special, I'm not convinced that the artist even read it.

Beautiful and very exciting. I've been chatting with your husband every morning pre train and boring him with my writing chatter and now I know you ate a writer published wonderful! I've been writing ad and content copy for years and am just getting into creative non fiction. One of my writing group friends us a teen writer too Stacey goldblatt (will have to check spelling) group is Encinitas writers group meets thurs at Encinitas library 6-730. we work off prompts Our leader is Maureen Pierre who also leads a Monday night group for people working on a specific project who are looking for feedback. I look forward to following your journey

Thank you SO MUCH, everyone. It's been so fun getting to celebrate this with all of you!

Except you, BrazierArt. You've just sealed your fate--I will continue to make fun of you in every book I ever write from now on. (For the record, Mr. Art is my brother-in-law. Whom I like very, very much. But mostly because he has an awesome wife and three really, really cute kids.)

But I'm going to disagree with you on the basis that the design team knows the book market. Since PARA is a paranormal/urban fantasy book, it needs to appeal to the people who read those--and paranormal books are typically darker, a little more dramatic, etc. And so that's why they opted to go with a more serious, intriguing cover than a playful one. It's a matter of knowing your audience. And I personally feel like it's still an excellent representation of the book, because although the book IS fun, it is also dark and dramatic.

And, for the record, my design team DID read the book, and put a ton of thought and time into this cover. And I think they all deserve raises. They know the market, they know the story, and the put together the best (and most beautiful) cover to fit both of them.

As far as it being "typical", I'd say the reaction here is indicative that it stands out quite well ; )

And if you still disagree, we can arm-wrestle over it the next time you visit.